AliveCor App Detects Heart Arrhythmias, Has FDA Approval

AliveCor has introduced an app - AliveECG - that is able to detect atrial fibrillation, a serious heart arrhythmia. I've talked with developers in the health care arena before, and if they've done their due diligence with the FDA (and they have) this app is a serious development.

The AliveECG app runs on a smartphone. The patient places their hand over an AliveCor nodule device that fits over the back of the phone. The app then measures the electric signals being transmitted by the heart and radiating through the fingers, detected by the nodule.

There are lots of types of arrhythmia, but when the algorithm sees patterns in the electrocardiogram (ECG) that are consistent with atrial fibrillation, it can alert the user. The user can then confirm the result by sending their ECG from their smartphone to a medical group in Los Angeles where a board-certified cardiologist can verify the result within 24 hours. This costs the user $12, all of which goes to the medical group.

There is also an option for a technician to read the ECG and return a result within half an hour, AliveCor CEO Euan Thomson told VentureBeat. The user can also send the ECG to his or her own physician.

Science fiction fans have been checking their smartphones for signs that Larry Niven's autodoc might be on its way. This idea, which appeared in his 1970 novel Ringworld, describes automated medical diagnosis and care.